A total of 201 people have been formally arrested in connection with voice phishing crimes over the past two years since an interagency investigation team was launched to tackle the crime, officials said Wednesday. The unit, which consists of some 50 personnel from seven institutions, including the prosecution, police, Korea Customs Service and Korea Communications Commission, has conducted joint investigations since its launch in July 2022. The team has booked a total of 628 people in the past two years and formally arrested 201 people, including 53 in charge of supplying repeaters, wireless routers, and burner SIM cards to a voice phishing ring, and 44 members from eight groups involved in distributing false bank accounts and burner SIM cards. As a result of the intensive crackdown, the financial damage from the phishing scams last year dropped nearly 42 percent to 447.2 billion won (US$ 324.3 million), compared to 774.4 billion won in 2021. However, the investigative unit called for stronger counterme asures to deter the crime, saying the downward trend could reverse this year with the financial damage recording 324.2 billion won in the first half of the year. "The criminal tactics have become sophisticated, and the method of carrying out the fraud is also rapidly diversifying," the investigative team said, citing stock and coin investment reading rooms and romance scams as examples. It plans to extend its operation for another year. Source: Yonhap News Agency